Electronic film is intended as a direct replacement for silver halide film, commonly used in photographic cameras. It generally consists of a digital capture device, memory to store the captured image, an interface port to allow transfer of image data to external devices, and supervisory electronics which provide the system with its functionality. Due to inherent size constraints, electronic film does not provide very much storage capacity. Electronic film must also have a dedicated and independent power source since it is designed to be interchangeable amongst all existing 35 mm cameras. Again, due to size constraints, the capacity of the power source is also limited. Since the surface of the digital capture device is unprotected inside the camera, it will be subject to accumulation of dust and consequently will require periodic cleaning or image quality will degrade.
An electronic film system has recently been announced by Irvine Sensors Corporation, Costa Mesa, Calif., which includes a high resolution electronic image sensor attached to a tab extending from a body shaped like a 35 mm film cartridge. The tab extends from the cartridge shaped body to locate the image sensor in the film gate of a camera when the body is placed in the film compartment of the camera. The body contains a battery power supply and a non-volatile flash storage memory capable of storing 30 images. The tab extending from the body also includes a set of contacts that interface with a computer adapter cable so that the images can be downloaded into a personal computer. 30 Images are probably not sufficient for many photographers, thereby requiring them to either purchase more than one electronic film unit, or to carry a laptop computer for the purposes of downloading the images. Since the electronic film units are projected to be relatively expensive (about $1000), and laptop computers are also expensive and bulky, neither or these approaches is satisfactory. There is a need therefore for an improved means for handling the images from the electronic film.